Tl;Dr: You can use these cheap Wifi RGB Modules from AliExpress/Ebay, and with a custom firmware they will speak MQTT and can be updated OTA as well as used for other features as desired. Download a copy of my custom firmware here, connect with the programming pads in the diagram here, configure Arduino to flash to… Continue Reading Hacked ESP8266 RGB LED Controller

The McAfee Webgateway is officially supported on VMWare or on a McAfee Appliance. In my test environment at home, i prefer to use libvirt running on a Debian system (qemu/kvm). When I first tried to install the webgateway, I got the error that this was not an appliance and the installer refused to go further. I… Continue Reading McAfee Webgateway on KVM

I’ll admit it – I’m addicted to google and their services. I use Android, which saves my location history (which helps with my travel reports for work – months later I can see when and where I was), provides me with voice searches and contact management. I am a gmail user since they first announced… Continue Reading When the cloud goes wrong

A quick little thing I did as a weekend project was to connect our washing machine to the Internet. The washing machine is in the basement, three flights below our apartment. On laundry day, we occasionally try to rotate loads too early and end up going downstairs before the previous load is done. The washing… Continue Reading ESP8266 Internet Enabled Washing Machine

November 11 is the beginning of the Karneval Season, and on November 11 I was out with my wife enjoying the partying. I noticed a number of costumes with lights on them, but I was very disappointed in them. They were usually nothing more than a string of Christmas lights wrapped around a body or… Continue Reading Costume

I just got a new Rigol DS2072A Oscilloscope. The reason I bought it was because of the ability to unlock it and get the extra features There is a great forum at the eevblog, which is very long and detailed. Many people are having trouble with figuring out which way works to generate the keys… Continue Reading Rigol DS2072A Unlock

This is a gripe I had written back in July 2007, but a recent case in 2014 has reminded me of this, and it’s interesting to see things haven’t really changed in 7 years. At work we have a very expensive contract with a vendor, to support their product. Every incident I have opened with… Continue Reading Open Source vs Vendor Support

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/experts-warn-about-security-flaws-in-airline-boarding-passes/2012/10/23/ed408c80-1d3c-11e2-b647-bb1668e64058_story.html The last time we flew home, I got the “random selection” to be extra screened which was very annoying. It started when I went through the security theatre, the agent pointed out that I had a “DDD” printed on my boarding card, which means that I was subjected to additional security checks. This required… Continue Reading Airport Security hole